Infection Rising
by CJ'sQueenOfTheDead
Summary: Waking up one morning to find your entire town in disarray and its inhabitants turned into dead cannibals is like something out of a horror movie. After being attacked by her neighbour, Vera races to find the only person she has left. Her destination? The Crossroads Mall. But it's not going to be that easy is it? Of course not. CJ/OC.
1. Prologue

"C'mon, c'mon." She whispered, walking slowly, eyes darting everywhere.

"No, please no." Then she saw it. Quickly she darted forward, grabbing it and pulling it to eye level.

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.

She grinned as she held the book in her hand. It had been published yesterday and she'd looked for it everywhere only to find it sold out. Now here she stood, at the Crossroads Mall, the last place she thought to look.

She sighed as she thought about the lack of book shops in Everett, Wisconsin. A few minutes later, she left the store with a small stack in her arms.

' _Perhaps I'll head over to Hallowed Grounds, grab a coffee.'_ She thought. Her stomach fluttered at the thought and it was decided. As she turned the corner, someone slammed into her roughly, her books fell to the floor and she tipped over, landing on her ass.

Pain tingled through her spine causing her to groan.

"Watch where the hell you're going." she heard someone yell. She looked up into the face of a suited man, briefcase in one hand, coffee in the other and an indignant look on his face.

"Sir, I'm sor-" she muttered until he cut her off.

"You're damn right you're sorry." he probably had a whole spiel of displeasure to send her way but the appearance of a security guard shut him up momentarily.

"Everythin' alright here?" CJ asked looking down at Vera on the ground.

She gave him a small smile from the ground.

"No it's not." The man started. CJ put up his hand to stop him and then extending his other hand to Vera.

"I'm not talking to you asswipe." he said helping her up and then kneeling to pick up her fallen books.

She took them from him gently and he glared at the irritated man, leading her towards the elevator.

"You good Red?" He asked, looking her over.

"I'm fine, thanks CJ." She replied, chuckling at the nickname he'd given her.

"Just lookin' out for my favourite girl." He tugged on a strand of her auburn hair and winked, grinning when she blushed.

The elevator doors opened and the noise of the busy level of Hallowed Grounds became louder. The two walked in companionable silence, waiting in the line.

"What'cha got this time?" CJ asked, looking at the stack in her arms.

Vera looked down and then held them up, so he could see the titles. He nodded, impressed.

"Zombies, really?" He gave a wry grin.

"I don't look like a horror nerd do I?" She mentioned.

"No, no you fuckin' don't."

She shrugged. "Zombies are my favourite."

"Way better than vampires." she added. CJ nodded in agreement, stepping forward to order their caffeine.

"Black coffee and a vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso and 2 pumps of caramel, no foam." He said, adjusting his cap.

Vera looked at him, surprised.

"What?"

"You know my whole order?"

He seemed embarrassed and shifted on his feet.

"It ain't that fucking hard to remember." he muttered, a barely visible pink flush on his cheeks and neck.

She laughed. ' _Typical CJ.'_

He handed over her drink and grabbed his. The two walked out towards the entrance doors.

"You need me to walk you to your car?" He asked, glancing at her. The sky outside was growing darker and with the news reports showcasing all sorts of horrific violent attacks, he didn't want her out there alone.

She shook her head.

"It's okay CJ. My car is right there." she pointed to the blue Volvo closest to the doors.

He nodded. "Alright, but I'm not taking my fuckin' eyes off you until you're outta my parking lot." His tone was joking but he was serious.

"I'll see you soon CJ." Both of her hands were full so she leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek and smiled. He held the door open and true to his word, watched until she was safely in her car and driving away.


	2. Chapter 1

12am, only 2 hours after the mall had officially closed its doors. The 4 security guards chosen to work the night shift were held up in the TV and entertainment store. The TV screens they had each displayed a different news station reporting about different violent attacks. CJ watched each broadcast silently, his mind wandering to Vera.

They were friends, or at least it seemed that way, she visited the mall a lot and he, obviously, worked there. After an incident involving some asshole trying to grope her, he'd always kept an eye out, making sure she was okay. But in the year that they'd formed their… whatever the hell it was, CJ had never gotten her phone number, and as he thought about Vera, out there in the darkness, surrounded by those fucking sick people, maybe hurt, he wanted to bash his head through the wall. He had no idea if she okay, if she was safe.

He didn't have anyone else to worry about and Vera had never mentioned any close friends and she wasn't close to her remaining family and there was no boyfriend, at least, he fucking hoped not. He held some hope that she held him in the same regard that he did her, and that perhaps she'd come to the mall, that she'd come to him.

Arguing broke his train of thought. CJ looked over at Bart and Ben. The former was laughing at Ben, who held up his arm, raising his voice.

"It's not funny, you fuck. That bitch fuckin' bit me." Bart laughed harder.

"Hey CJ." He called between giggles. "Ben over here got his ass kicked by some chick in the parking lot."

CJ shook his head, ignoring them both until Ben got to his feet, walking to the door.

"Hey! Where the fuck are you goin'?" He asked.

"I'm going downstairs, see if the bitch that bit me is still outside."

"Don't go down-fuckin'-stairs." CJ warned him but Ben walked out anyway. "Asshole." he muttered, turning back to the TV.

"Nobody else goes fuckin' anywhere, you hear me?" He told Bart and Terry.

* * *

It was the screaming that woke her. Vera's eyes forced themselves open and she yawned. She lived in a nice apartment block, but her neighbours next door, a young couple, Debbie and Carlos, they'd been having some issues lately which usually ended in screaming before one of them would storm out to cool off.

There was a loud bang that forced Vera's body into high alert. She stood, shivering slightly despite the morning heat. She looked at her attire, a tank top and some shorts. That would be fine, she wouldn't need to change.

She walked towards her front door, eyes slipping to the clock for a second. 6:07am. She unlocked her front door and peeked out, the threat of the recent, violent attacks stuck with her. The hallway was empty and silent. She stepped out and walked the short distance to Debbie and Carlos' front door.

Vera knocked, not too loud but loud enough. No sound came from inside and she tried to ignore that dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Debbie? Carlos? Everything okay?" she called out, her voice echoing down the corridor.

Receiving no reply, she knocked again. There was no movement from inside.

"Guys, I'm coming in okay?" She called out in warning, that loud noise had startled her and she was wondering if maybe one of them was injured. She placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted it slowly.

The audible click of the door opening was loud in the hallway. She pushed open the door and walked slowly inside.

Vera scrunched her nose, the heat was stifling and something smelled… off. She walked further into the apartment and as she approached the living room, she froze.

She saw a pair of shoes, inching out of the living room, the closer she got, the more she realised they were attached to legs, unmoving legs. Then she heard the sound. Something that sounded… wet. There was a tearing sound and slurping. Vera swallowed down the bile that threatened to come up and she turned the corner.

"Oh God." she muttered. There on the floor lay Carlos. His chest had been ripped open, rib cage mostly gone, all his organs were gone and she suspected the chewed up mush that lay near his body were the remains of them. Bite marks littered his face and hands and legs, chucks of flesh were missing from his body and the blood… The blood coated the floor, the walls.

Vera felt the tears run down her cheeks, and her vision became a wet blur. The growl was her only warning before she was knocked to the floor. Her arms pushed against her assailant on pure survival instinct, but her body was still winded from the landing, she looked up into the gruesome face of Debbie.

"Debbie what the fuck are you doing?!" she cried out, arms starting to shake with the force. The only reply from her neighbour was a monstrous growl. She was snapping at Vera with her teeth. Vera's eyes drifted to Carlos for a split second and she knew that Debbie had done that.

' _I'm not gonna end up like that.'_ That thought renewed her strength and with a force she didn't think she had, she pushed Debbie off her, causing her to land somewhere near Carlos, quickly, Vera stood and turned.

The kitchen was opposite the living room and she ran forward, taking hold of the largest knife from the knife block. Before she had the chance to turn around, she was tackled from behind. The force pushed her off balance and she slammed her head against the hard counter.

The blow was so hard her teeth seemed to rattle, she forced herself to turn just before she hit the ground, and despite her blurry vision, thrust the knife into Debbie's face. The blade slid through like butter, and the frantic, aggressive movements of what was once Debbie, ceased their actions. She pushed the dead weight off of her and lay there, panting, crying.

After a few minutes, Vera pulled herself up with her back against the wall and looked at the carnage around her. She swallowed hard and brought a hand up to her head. Her fingertips came back into view, covered in blood, although as she looked at the rest of her body, the blood could either be hers or Debbie's.

She stood and pulled the knife out of Debbie's face, trying not to be affected. She walked quickly to the open apartment door and looked out, far more cautious now. It was clear. She swiftly scampered to her door and walked in, going straight for her keys. Car keys in hand, she turned, ready to grab some clothes and get the hell out of there.

Then she heard the growling.

"Not again." She whispered, moving slowly towards her front door. Car keys in one hand and kitchen knife in the other, she walked into the hallway and stopped. The door at the end of the hallway that led to one of the stairwells gave way. The wood giving out with a sickening crack. Maybe 8 or 9 of the infected climbed over each other in search of fresh meat. They spotted her, screaming and growling, running at full force.

Vera gasped and ran for the door behind her, she shut it, hoping it would hold. As she began to race down the stairwell, the infected started to slam against the door. She ran the 6 floors worth of stairs to the lobby. She knew she couldn't just waltz in there, it could be full of the dead. She opened the door and peeked out. Silent and empty. Opening it further she walked out, eyes targeting the back door that lead to the resident parking lot.

One glance outside and she felt sick. Cars were overturned, there was fire and bodies and the infected. And that was just what she could see outside the apartment block. God knows what the rest of the city looked like. She took a deep breath and then darted for the back door, aware of the thundering steps from the stairwell she'd just left. The dead were coming.

With all of her force, she threw open the door and ran into the lot, she dodged one of the infected and threw her key into the car door twisting quickly. She opened the door and slid it, slamming it just as the infected doorman began to claw at her window, screaming at her. She looked into his yellow, milky dead eyes and then turned the key in the ignition.

She reversed quickly, the dead doorman's grip was forced from the car and as she spun out of there, he ran to follow. She sped through the streets, trying to avoid looking at the carnage that had overtaken the city. She didn't even know where the fuck she was going.

' _I'm not going to make it to Canada, besides, what's the point.'_ she thought about her mother's brother in Ontario. She was an only child and with both of her parents already dead, there wasn't anyone she needed to be with.

' _Maybe...'_ She thought. Vera bit her lip, unsure. She didn't have anyone else and CJ was someone she considered a friend, maybe more.

' _Besides, the mall should be safe. It's big, fortifiable.'_ She turned, heading back off the road to the highway and turning towards the mall. She spotted a car ahead, there was a small struggle and before she knew it, the car ploughed into her, both of them trying to gain control before they hit the crossroad and slammed into the barrier. Vera's car tumbled over, rolling down the hill before coming to an upright stop against a tree.


	3. Chapter 2

Vera groaned and opened her eyes, blinking hard against the strong light of the morning sun. She brought her hands up, pushing herself away from the steering wheel. Looking down at her chest, she could see the red marks left by the seat belt. The sound of a gun cocking caused her to freeze.

She turned her head slowly, making eye contact with a tall, well built black man in a police uniform, holding a shotgun directly at her. She moved her hands slowly into his line of sight and kept them there, showing him that she wasn't dangerous.

He looked at her and then he lowered the gun.

"Can you get out?" He asked.

"I think so." she replied, lowering her hands.

She quickly forced her belt off, reaching onto the floor of her car for the kitchen knife that had fallen from the seat during the crash.

The door opened easy enough and she stepped out, careful of any glass that could tear into her bare feet. She winced, her side aching a lot. Glancing down, she noticed fresh blood on her once grey tank top. Lifting it, she saw a small shard of glass stuck into her side.

She'd have to deal with it when she was somewhere safer. Turning in the direction the cop had walked, she caught sight of another car, the car that had hit her. She scurried over, carefully watching for any infected that may appear.

A blonde woman was slowly crawling out of her wrecked car. One glance showed that this woman had been through hell. Besides her bloody pyjamas and bare feet, the smashed car window and the bloody handprints showed just how much shit this woman had been through already.

The black man cocked his gun again and Vera stood at his side, knife raised a little. She looked up at them.

"Say something." the man said. His voice was deep and heavy.

"Please."

That seemed to be enough for the cop as he walked right by her. Vera held out her hand and the blonde grabbed it, standing slowly.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking her over for any injuries that might need immediate attention.

"I'm fine, are you? I hit your car." the blonde asked, glancing past Vera at the ruined volvo.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." she started to walk after the man.

"I'm Ana." she heard from behind her.

"Vera." she replied, catching up to the cop.

She knew the mall was close by and felt the relief knowing that soon, she'd be able to rest. Her head was pounding, both from the encounter with Debbie and the car accident. Vera wondered briefly if the wound on her head was still bleeding.

She tried to ignore the playground as they walked past it silently, each of them stepping around the red bicycle on the ground. The only sounds she could hear being their light footsteps and the jingle of the officers keys on his belt.

As they walked through the underpass, 3 gunshots and a woman's scream rang out causing them to drop to the ground. Vera flinched as one of the bullets ricocheted against the wall above her head.

Vera's heart pounded. The officer in front of her had his shotgun trained on 3 individuals. Two men and a woman.

A man in a bloodied white shirt had one hand out to stop the officer from shooting and one hand out towards the black man dressed all in black who held a gun towards them.

"Alright, Okay." The man shouted, trying to diffuse the situation. "Put the guns down."

The man all in black hesitated, keeping his gun pointing towards them.

"What are you doing? C'mon he's a cop."

Vera stood slowly, raising her hands and slowly crept out of the underpass. The man in black's eyes flickered to her but he didn't point the gun at her, despite the knife in her hands, so she assumed that was good.

"Come on, put the gun down." The white man said, this time with less force. The black man lowered his gun, as did the officer. He and Ana stood, coming out from the underpass.

"I thought you were one of them." the man in black explained.

Vera walked closer, noticing the twitch of his gun hand. She passed them, slowly walking up the grassy bank.

"Then you wouldn't have been able to stop us." she said to him before she reached the metal link fence that separated her from the Mall. The parking lot was empty and the place seemed in good condition. Which meant it was probably safe inside.

"Vera, where are you going?" she heard Ana's voice call from behind her. She turned to look at the woman.

"I'm looking for someone who works there." she explained. The officer continued walking, in the direction the new group had come from. Ana stopped by the man in the white shirt and seemed unsure.

"You do not want to go that way." the white man told them.

"What's that way?"

The officer continued, despite the warning.

"Officer. Sir, you do **not** want to go that way." the man said more firmly.

Now the officer stopped and looked back.

"What's that way?" Ana and Vera asked in unison.

The man seemed unsure what to say, and instead settled with, "It's pretty bad."

"What about Fort Pastor?"

"Maybe if you had wings." The man in black spoke up. "The road's thick with those motherfuckers that way."

That sent a chill up Vera's spine. She did not want to encounter another infected. She turned instead, to the chain link fence in front of her, trying to figure out if she could scale it.

"How do you know?" The officer asked.

"We just tried." the man in all black began to help his wife up the bank to the fence.

"Back when there was 8 of us."

There was a beat of silence.

"We're going to the mall."

The others joined them and they all looked over at the mall.

* * *

Vera watched as the man in the white shirt, Michael, he'd told her, attempted to pry open a fire exit door. However the crowbar he carried with him wasn't quite big enough and it kept slipping.

"Damn." she turned as the officer spoke. A few infected were running towards them. The one closest was an asian looking man, missing an arm. Her heart beat faster. Luda began to scream.

"Hurry up."

Andre, the man dressed all in black, moved forward and began to shoot, chest, stomach, nothing. Instead he kept running towards them.

Vera kept her blade raised, just in case.

"Back up." the officer ordered. There was a gunshot and suddenly everyone was piling into the mall.

The one armed infected had caught up with them and shoved his shoulder through the gap in the door in an effort to keep it open. The stump of blood and torn flesh wiggled at them, as though he was convinced he could still reach them.

"Open the door." the officer told them.

Andre let the door open a little and the cop kicked the infected, knocking him back against the others. Andre quickly pulled the door shut and the group was plunged into darkness. They were mainly silent, the pounding and growling at the door was enough to convince them to move on.

They moved as one through the darkness, and past another fence until they came to a small room.

"Lights." Michael's voice mentioned. Vera immediately began to grope at the wall, hoping for some switch.

"Here." Ana said. The lights flickered on. Vera guided Luda to the water tank in the corner and the pregnant woman filled a cup to drink. Andre spotted a phone on the wall and crossed to it, pulling the receiver to his ear.

"No?" Michael asked from behind him.

"No."

Finding nothing else of use, they entered the store. It was mainly home appliances. Vera walked up to the doors that exited into the mall and pulled. They were locked. A brief glance for another exit gave no results.

Michael glanced at his crowbar, but upon realising it would be of no use, looked around for something else. He spotted the toilet close to them and with Andre's help, it was picked up and thrown at the display window. The officer and Andre exited first, gun's pointed in case of danger.

Vera glanced down at the shattered glass and sighed. Michael looked over at her and then at the glass. He'd noticed her lack of footwear earlier.

"Here." he said, capturing her attention.

He walked closer and placed an arm across her lower back, bending his knees to put the other beneath her knees. She placed her arms on his shoulders and he picked her up, carrying her over the display and into the mall on a spot free of glass.

"Thanks." she said. Michael smiled at her and went back to get Ana. Once they were all together, they moved as a group, walking towards the front doors that Vera had exited yesterday. She tried to pay attention to their surroundings but it became harder. This place was too quiet, did that mean that anyone who was inside was dead or alive?

As they approached the fountain, Andre sat Luda down on the edge. Both Ana and Vera began to clean the blood from their hands.

"We need to make sure this place is safe." Michael said, glancing at the doors behind him. Vera nodded, agreeing, and walked over, tugging on each door.

"These are all locked." she told him. He nodded.

"I'm gonna see if the doors this way are locked."

"Alright and I'll check down there." Andre added, glancing towards the stairs just behind them.

"Maybe officer, you could go down that direction, check for…" Michael trailed off noticing the look the officer gave him as he reloaded his shotgun.

"Alright, okay. Maybe it's better if you stay here with the gun."

"Andre and I will check around."

"Alright baby, i'll be right back." Andre assured Luda as she stood.

He gently forced her to sit back down.

"No, just stay right here okay? Stay right here."

The two walked off. Vera stood in front of the officer.

"So, do you have a name or do I just call you Officer?" She asked him softly.

"Kenneth." he stated. She nodded.

They were all silent for some minutes, each lost in their own heads. There was a struggle from somewhere on their level of the mall. Michael's yells was prominent as were the growls of an infected.

Kenneth had stood, shotgun ready as they waited.

There was a growl and a scream from their left. An infected had grabbed Luda's arm and she was struggling.

Vera raised her knife, trying to figure out a way to help the pregnant woman without injuring her.

Kenneth rotated the shotgun and with the butt of his gun, hit the infected in the face. Ana pulled Luda away from him as he lunged for Kenneth.

They struggled before Kenneth fell into the fountain, the infected on top of him. There was a vicious metallic, tearing sound and blood began to leak into the water.

Vera raised her knife, but froze when she saw the uniform the man was wearing. A security guard's uniform.

' _No. Oh God no.'_

A gunshot made her flinch. Ana had picked up Kenneth's fallen shotgun and pulled the trigger. The bullet passed through the man's shoulder and back, it didn't kill him, but no doubt caused some nerve damage as the infected man remained in the water, twitching.

Vera pulled Kenneth out of the water and they all began to run. Andre joined them at the top of the stairs.

"What happened? Come on, move." he yelled. "Move!"

"Which way?" Ana cried out as Michael appeared, white shirt now completely soaked in blood as well as his hands and face.

"Here." Michael pointed ahead. "Elevators. Let's go, let's go!"

Michael pushed the button and they all practically fell in. Kenneth pounded on the close door button as well at the second floor button.

Vera stood just to the right of Michael, eyes filled with tears, both from the pain running caused her as well as the realisation that she may be too late to find CJ.

"Can I see that arm?" Ana asked Kenneth, still cradling the shotgun. He moved his arm forward, the wound bleeding extensively.

"I need to suture that." she mumbled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." he told her. Ana then turned to Vera.

"Are you okay? You froze. Was he…?" She didn't finish her sentence.

"No, but-" She cut herself off and slid down the wall. Exhaustion filling her. Vera sniffled, trying to compose herself. ' _Now is_ _ **not**_ _the time to lose your shit.'_ she chastised herself.

The was a soft ding as the elevator reached its destined floor. The doors slid open and there were multiple clicks of guns. From her spot on the floor, Vera glanced through Ana and Kenneth's legs. There were 3 pairs of legs. Uniformed legs. ' _Perhaps…'_

"Find someplace else." CJ's familiar voice rang out, his tone was low and threatening, something she'd only heard once.

"Look, we just need a place-" Michael was cut off by CJ flicking the safety off his gun.

"Maybe you didn't hear me."

"There is no place else." Michael countered firmly. Vera slowly pushed herself up, ignoring the waves of pain spreading through her body.

"Well, that's tough shit because this is our place and you can't stay here."

"Yeah." Bart agreed.

Vera pushed past Ana, trying not to bump Kenneth's injured arm. CJ's gun twitched in her direction before he noticed those familiar green eyes.

"Vera? C'mere." He said, overjoyed that she was there but shocked at the state she'd arrived in. She was covered in blood and there was a gash on her forehead, some minor cuts and bruises covering every inch of skin he could see; which was a lot.

He held his hand out for her to grab in case she was unsteady. She reached forward and he pulled her gently from the elevator, looking her over. ' _What the Hell happened to her?'_ She hadn't even had time to put on shoes. He pulled her to his side, his left arm still pointing a gun at the group.

"You already trashed Metropolis." Bart said to them.

"Look dumb-ass, my wife is pregnant." Andre motioned towards Luda. "We can't run anymore." the elevator dinged and he threw his arm against the door to stop them closing.

"His arm-" Ana tried to tell them.

"Those things are down there!" Michael interrupted.

CJ stood firm. "Well, these are all your problems, not mine."

"If I put my foot up your ass, would that be your problem?" Kenneth's voice was deep and laced with pain.

"Hey, asshole, I'm the one pointing the gun at you."

"He is a cop, CJ." The trainee, Terry, mentioned.

"So what?" came CJ's reply. The elevator dinged again, Andre stopped them from closing.

"We're not gonna cause any trouble. Just let us stay here for a little while. Please." Ana pleaded. Vera's grip on CJ's arm tightened and he looked down at her. She nodded at him, hoping to change his mind.

"OK." His voice was softer this time, but still laced with warning. "Come outta there slowly and give your weapons to Bart and Terry." He motioned to the two guards either side of him.

"Don't do it." Kenneth said to Ana as she took a step forward.

Andre chimed in. "You must be outta your fuckin' mind."

"You can take your ass on over to Quality Inn if it's still there, Shaq." Kenneth glared at him.  
"Huh? You wanna do that?" No one said anything, realising this was their only option. "Let's go."

Ana stepped out of the elevator, holding the gun away from her body. "Hey, don't give him that gun." Andre called as she handed the shotgun to Terry. Luda placed a hand on Andre's shoulder, whispering to him.

"Fuck." He muttered as Bart stepped forward, taking his gun.

"Smart move." CJ told them as Michael and Luda stepped forward, weaponless. Bart and Terry lead the way, CJ choosing to stay at the back with Vera. She held her knife out to him. He looked at it, covered in blood and shook his head.

"Not gonna use it on me are you, Red?" He smirked. She shook her head and huffed a laugh, wincing slightly at the pain in her side.

"I don't know, you were a bit of an asshole back there." She mentioned.

He shrugged, waving away the knife. "Safety first." he muttered. "Keep the knife for now, I'll get you a gun once we've sorted those fuckers out." He motioned to the group ahead.

"I don't know how to shoot." Vera told him.

"I'll teach you." He replied, scratching at his moustache as they reached the entertainment store.


	4. Chapter 3

The lighting in the TV and Entertainment store was dim, most of it coming from the televisions. So far, the news was bad. Really bad.

Vera turned to CJ. "Has it been like this all morning?" She asked in a hushed whisper. He nodded.

"Started late last night, got worse every hour."

She bit her lip, she thought her experience had been pretty bad, but as she saw the amount of dead bodies, she knew she'd had it easy.

" _Nobody knows what's going on. There's lots of blood and bodies."_

"Alright. Let's go, guys." CJ's voice was loud by her ear and she jumped. He was moving them over to the couches.

"Come on, get your own little TV."

There were 2 couches and a multitude of armchairs. Vera made her way to an armchair in the middle and eased herself down. Now that she wasn't running on adrenaline, her entire body ached.

"Excuse me." A russian accented voice called out. "Please. Is there a restroom?" Luda asked, a hand on her stomach.

"No. You're staying here." CJ told her.

"Then tell us which spot in here you'd like us to take a piss." Andre retorted. CJ rolled his eyes and pointed towards the restroom.

"Alright. It's around the corner, that way."

As he went to turn around, he saw Andre follow after his wife.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where d'ya think you're going?"

"She's not going anywhere alone." Andre stated.

"'She's not going anywhere…'" CJ repeated. "This is a fucking nursery school. Terry, go with them."

CJ took a seat next to Vera, eyes on the TV in front of him. Ana was pressing paper towels to Kenneth wounds, trying to staunch the blood flow.

She briefly glanced at Vera.

"Hey Vera?" The woman in question looked over.

"Once I've fixed this, I'll come and take a look at you, okay?" She promised.

Vera smiled and gave a shrug. "Thanks Ana."

" _How do you kill these thin-?"_ The TV reporter asked. The man on screen, Sheriff Cahill, interrupted him.

" _Just shoot 'em in the head. They seem to go down permanently when you shoot 'em in the head."_

Vera memory flitted back to the knife she pulled out of Debbie's face. The blow had been accidental. A result of her vision being blurry, she'd aimed for the shoulder and gone completely off course, the knife ending up under her eyes, buried almost hilt deep in her cheek. But it had worked.

' _Thank God.'_ She thought, not wanting to think about the results, had she actually hit the shoulder instead.

"Twitcher." Bart repeated. Vera looked up, having been lost in her thoughts. On the TV screen was a woman, lying on the ground and twitching. Just like the security guard downstairs.

"Now that is one cool motherfucker." CJ ignored Bart, catching Vera shaking her head from his peripheral vision.

"Bleeding's not gonna stop on its own." Ana piped up making them look at her. "I need to stitch his arm."

CJ looked over and then back to the TV.

"What are you, a fucking doctor?"

"No." came the reply. "I'm a fucking nurse."

Vera laughed which seemed to irritate CJ more. He unclipped his keys from his utility belt and threw them to Bart.

"First aid kit's in the security office." he said, leaning forward to pay more attention to the TV.

Ana stood and followed Bart out of the store.

"Huh? What'd I tell you boys?" CJ exclaimed, turning to look at Bart before realising he was gone. He then looked at Kenneth and Michael instead pointing at the tv.

"America always sorts its shit out." He seemed to truly believe that, Vera however, couldn't ignore the feeling that this wasn't going to be over any time soon.

A soldier on the TV began talking about Fort Pastor and how it was safe for everyone.

"My brothers there." Kenneth mentioned. "He's waiting for me." Vera figured that's why he'd been so desperate to get there. She hoped, for his sake, that his brother was okay.

How'd you crash your car?" Vera looked at Kenneth who was watching her.

"Wait, you crashed your fuckin' car?" CJ asked. She nodded.

"I was coming to the mall, Ana was in her car, there was some kind of struggle, I think someone was trying to take the car." Vera explained. "She lost control, took both of us over the barrier and down the hill."

CJ was frowning at her. "You hurt?"

"A little. Some cuts, bruises. The gash on my head? I got that from home."

"What the hell happened to you out there?"

Vera told them everything, from waking up to being attacked and escaping.

"Holy shit." She nodded, agreeing with the sentiment.

Ana walked back in, joined by Luda and Andre and their "guards."

Andre sat on the couch, helping Luda onto so she was lying with her upper body resting against him.

"Anything I can do to help?" Michael quietly asked Ana while she prepared the suture for Kenneth. She nodded over to Vera.

"Do you think you can check Vera's side for me?" he nodded and Vera stood to go over to him.

"Hey, I got it." CJ bit out, glaring at Michael. Michael just nodded, not wanting to anger the man anymore, and handed over the steristrips as well as some alcohol wipes and a pair of tweezers.

CJ pulled her closer and sat on the edge of his seat. She winced as she pulled the right side of her tank top up to just under her bra.

"Alright sweetheart, grab onto my shoulder and just squeeze when it hurts." He told her, using the tweezers to pull the largest shard of glass out. It wasn't too long or deep and the damage was minimum, but it hurt like a bitch.

Vera hissed through her teeth, squeezing CJ's shoulder like he'd told her to. He pulled out a few more small pieces embedded in her skin and used the alcohol wipes to sterilize them, placing some band aids over to help stop the bleeding.

He glanced over the bruises on her stomach and then started cleaning the little cuts on her arms and hands, even a few on her legs.

The only wound left was the one on her forehead. He cleaned it as gently as possible and then patted it dry. The steristrips were easy to put on and once finished she sat back down and smiled at him.

"Thanks CJ." he nodded and held out a packet of peanuts he'd been snacking on. Taking a few, she hadn't realised how hungry she was.

"So what's the plan?" Michael asked, coming closer and squatting down in front of CJ.

CJ didn't even spare him a glance. "The plan is you drink a nice, tall glass of shut-the-fuck-up." he snarked.

Ana waved Vera over, just to check her injuries as a precaution.

"OK, that's one idea." Michael replied slowly."What about locking this place down? Sooner or later, they're gonna get in here."

A chill ran down Vera's spine.

"That's good. Like I hadn't thought of that." CJ muttered sarcastically.

"Hey, no doubt. You probably already thought about putting a sign up on the roof because, I mean there's still planes in the air. Might be good to let them know we're alive."

It seemed that this hadn't occurred to CJ. He nodded and leaned forward, finally giving his attention to Michael.

"We can get some paint from Case Hardware. Use some office doors to board up the weak spots."

"That's a solid plan." Michael agreed. "CJ, is it?" He asked politely.

CJ nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright, CJ." Michael moved away as CJ stood.

"Everybody, listen up." He called out, catching everyone's attention.

"I'm gonna give everybody a job to do and I expect you to do all of it. I don't wanna see any half-assin'."

He looked over at Kenneth, Ana and Vera.

"You know what? Why don't you start off by cleaning up that mess you made in Metropolis."

* * *

 **The survivors had been given their jobs and the tools needed to complete said jobs and off they went.**

"Bart, Terry, c'mon, we'll take care of those sick fucks downstairs." CJ said, keeping a hand on Vera in case she tried to wander off. Not because he didn't trust her, she was just safer by his side.

They walked towards the elevator.

"You need to get cleaned up." He told her.

"I'll let you into one of the stores, you can get some clothes and shoes."

Vera looked down at her attire as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped in.

"I dunno." She said. "I think I really rock this almost-died-at-least-10-times look." she grinned.

"Smart-ass."

As they exited the elevator, she pointed in the direction of the fountain.

"I know for sure there's one still in the fountain. I'm not too sure about anywhere else." she explained to them.

Bart got there first.

"Hey CJ, look!" He called behind him.

"Terry. Take a look at Ben Cozine."

Terry and Vera stood side by side, staring at the infected security guard. He was splashing around in the water, his body going through multiple spasms.

"Hey, Ben. Ben." Bart antagonized. Vera rolled her eyes and CJ got close enough to see.

"Christ." Terry breathed out. "Look at him."

"He's not alive." Vera said quietly. They all looked at her.

"How'd you know?" CJ asked.

"Those things don't feel anything. They don't feel pain. That shot would have killed someone if they were alive, but he's still moving. He's already dead." she tried to wrap her head around it, knowing it didn't really make sense. But what else could it be.

"Look, he's a twitcher." Bart laughed.

"TV says you gotta shoot 'em in the head."

"TV said a lot of things that aren't true." Terry said cynically.

CJ stepped closer. "Fuck the fucker." he stated simply.

"I told him not to go downstairs." he raised his gun just as Ben seemed to stop and face him. The gunshot echoed through the empty halls and Ben's body splashed back into the water, this time motionless.

"Let's go. Let's get to work."

As they walked off, Terry remained behind, staring at the fountain.

"Holy shit."

* * *

"Bart, Terry. Go up to the roof, keep an eye on those fuckers. I'm taking Vera to get some clothes and a shower." CJ told them, placing a hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the elevator.

"Shower huh?" Bart said, looking up from where he was placing one of the wrapped bodies on the floor, his tone laced with suggestion. CJ glared at him.

"Just do what I fuckin' said." He turned and began walking back towards the elevators. The employee showers were on the upper floors, near the security office. The silence between them was palpitating and Vera wanted to say something, anything.

"I thought you were dead." She mumbled, avoiding his eyes when he turned to her. "When I saw the security guard downstairs. I, honest to God, thought you were dead and I wasn't sure what I was going to do if you were." She told him truthfully.

"Doesn't matter now." He said gruffly. "I'm not dead, neither are you. We'll stay here until help comes."

She scoffed. "Do you really think help is coming?" He didn't answer. "I saw it out there CJ. It's a mess, I don't know if help is coming and if it is, I don't think it's going to be anytime soon."

"C'mon sweetheart. You'll feel better after a shower." He said as they exited the elevator. She moaned at the thought.

"You should be prepared, there might be tears." He unlocked the clothing store and held the door for her, sticking close as she collected something to wear.

Once they reached the showers he stopped her. "I'm gonna be just outside this door, shout if you need anythin'." He told her.

"I can shower on my own." She said, walking past him. "Maybe next time." She winked, closing the door, leaving him to shake his head.

She didn't shower long, she scrubbed the blood off of her and washed her hair, her face twisted in a grimace as the water ran crimson. Vera scrubbed until her skin was a light shade of pink but yet the hot, sticky feeling of blood never seemed to leave her. It made her skin crawl.

She got out quickly, towelling her hair until it was as dry as she could get it. She pulled on a pair of black jeans and a plaid shirt over a black tank top. She opened the door as she tugged on some boots.

CJ looked her up and down and whistled. "Well don't you clean up nicely."

Vera rolled her eyes. "I'd say ditto, but I've never seen you in anything other than your uniform." That sobered them both up. CJ sighed and the two made their way to the roof in silence.

* * *

Vera stood by Michael staring into the sea of infected as they came towards the mall. To her right, CJ, Bart and Terry were getting rid of the bodies, throwing them over the edge.

"What are they?" Michael asked. Vera shook her head.

"I don't know." Ana replied. "Why are they coming here?"

"Memory, maybe." Kenneth supplied. "Instinct. Maybe they're coming for us."

"If I had any hopes of sleeping tonight, there they went." Vera quipped. Bart snorted from behind her. Gunshots pulled their attention to a small store across the lot. Vera peered over, barely making out a figure on the rooftop. Maybe he wasn't that close, maybe she should have grabbed her glasses from beside her bed before she bolted. The dissolvable contact lenses she usually wore had obviously reached the end of their life span.

"Hey, look over there. There's someone on the roof." Ana mentioned. CJ grabbed the binoculars he had and raised them to his eyes.

"His name's Andy. He's alone."

"He may as well be on the moon." Andre stressed. Vera nodded in agreement.

"Poor guy."

The man, Andy, frantically began to point at something. Almost completely indistinguishable between the growls of the dead, the whirring of helicopter blades could be heard.

"What's he pointing at?" Ana asked.

Michael and Vera were the first to see it. "Helicopter." They cried in unison. Everyone turned quickly in the direction it was coming from.

"Hey, it's coming." Andre pointed out to them, Everyone began to wave them arms. CJ walked closer to Vera. "Fuckin' A, man. See? What'd I tell you Red." He gave her a pointed look, waving his arms as the helicopter came even closer.

The helicopter passed over their heads and away from them. Vera and CJ exchanged looks. The other quickly began to lose their excitement.

"Please... What's he doing? Where's he going?" Ana's tone became hopeless.

Andre though confused, tried to explain it to Luda who looked so upset. "No. I mean, they saw us, so…"

Vera knew it wasn't coming back, but she didn't have the heart to tell them, she had a feeling they already knew. CJ put his arm over her shoulder and sighed. She turned to look at him and he groaned quietly. "Don't say 'I told you so.'" She gave a faint smile.

"I don't think I need to." She muttered, watching at the helicopter disappeared into the distance.

"It's safe here. We'll just wait for them to come back."

* * *

 **The rest of the day passed and the mall was fully reinforced. They'd painted a lot of signs and placed them on the outside of the building wherever possible.**

Vera followed CJ through the mall, the rest of the group trailing behind. She yawned. "What time is it?" She asked. He checked his watch and stopped outside of a furniture store.

"Almost 8." He squatted down and using his keys, unlocked the shutters. He pulled them up and stared at the group expectedly. "Well, go on." Slowly, they walked in, realising that they were being shut in for the night, like animals. Vera moved to join them, but a finger wrapped around one of her belt loops, drawing her back.

"You're staying with us." There was an unspoken meaning behind CJ's words but she nodded. Any other person might probably have joined them, refusing to accept the favouritism the senior guard was handing out, but Vera couldn't deny that she felt much safer with him.

He threw down the shutters and locked them.

"I don't want anybody sneaking around and stealing shit." He warned them. Nobody said a word. "Comprende? Sweet dreams." He said before walking away, Bart and Terry on his heels.

After watching Bart haul a mattress into the TV and entertainment store, Vera decided instead to settle into the armchair next to CJ's with a blanket. The TV played an interview with some scientist who was giving out basic information about the infected.

"These guys are so full of shit. The same damn thing all day. Give me something I don't know, asshole." He yelled, throwing his cap at the TV and smoothing his hair back. Vera laughed a little and he looked at her.

"What?"

"Nothing, I've just never seen you with your cap off. I was starting to think it was welded onto your head or something." She smiled and he grinned at her.

"Wanna hear something that sucks?" Bart said, getting comfy on his makeshift bed. The news broadcaster was informing anyone still alive to view that they were going off the air. Vera felt her heart sink a little.

"You know that chick at Dairy Queen?"

"The fat one?" CJ questioned.

"Yeah. She was coming over tonight. I would have tapped that shit for sure."

Vera giggled and shook her head. "Seriously?"

"Bart, dude, everybody's dead, OK? Your mom's dead. Your brother's dead. That fat chick at Dairy Queen. Dead." Terry raised his voice.

Vera wondered briefly of her living family, if they were, in fact, still living. Were they worried about her? Did they ever try to contact her? Maybe they were already dead.

"Yeah." Bart sighed. "That sucks too."

* * *

A few hours later and Vera and CJ were the only ones awake. Now, without everyone else around, CJ felt it was easier to talk to her.

"I was worried about you too yanno." He muttered so low she almost didn't hear him. She looked at him, giving her attention, but not replying for fear of stopping him before he said something else.

"But it's not like I had your fuckin' number or anything. I thought you were dead, or sick or some shit." He paused. Trying to find the least mushy way of telling her how he felt.

"I'm glad you're not dead." He said. Vera slowly moved over and kissed his cheek.

"You might be all I've got left in this world CJ. And if you are, then I'm glad it's you."

CJ's hand draped on the arm, palm up. He looked over at Vera and then wiggled his fingers a little. She seemed to get the message and hooked her arm behind his, placing her right hand in his. He tangled their fingers together and relished in the sigh of comfort she gave. Just having something to grasp onto made her feel safer.

Vera leant her head against his shoulder and scoffed at the television which was broadcasting some black guy spewing religious bullshit. CJ watched the TV, not saying anything.

" _When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth."_

A few moments later, the generators powered down, all the lights went off, televisions included. Vera listened carefully, the darkness was more terrifying now than it had ever been. She could hear the dead, growling and groaning, scratching at the walls, desperate to get inside. It made her shiver.

"I can hear them." She whispered to CJ. His grip on her hand tightened and he turned his body more towards her.

"Those fuckers aren't gettin' in here. They're not gonna get you. I won't let them." He promised her.

"Thank you." There were no more words between them and he refused to take his eyes off of her until she was sleeping peacefully. Only then, did he succumb to sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

It was still dark when Vera woke. She'd turned in her sleep, hand still entwined with CJ's. She was now on her side. During the night, he had also maneuvered, his chest flat against the arms of their chairs. She noted that he lay over his forearm, as though he hadn't wanted to remove his hand from hers. CJ rested his forehead against her, in the crook between her neck and shoulder. She relished in the warmth, sleepiness still covering her like a blanket.

If it hadn't been for her current position, she may have believed that the events of yesterday were a dream. She knew she should have been more alert, but she felt so safe that there was no need. For now, Vera banished any thought of the infected, any thought of them getting into the mall. Right now, all she wanted to focus on, was the man she was tangled up in.

Then, the loud noise of what she soon figured out were the lights turning on, echoed through the mall. She jumped a little, the jarring of her body was enough to knock CJ into consciousness. Bart had jumped up immediately and was pointing his gun any which way. Vera couldn't see his face, but she knew it wore a look of terror. Not that she blamed him.

CJ pushed himself away from the warm cradle of Vera's body and reached forward, to the glass table just behind their armchairs. He picked up his watch and then addressed Bart.

"Hey, dumb-ass." He called nonchalantly.

"Hm?" Bart grunted, still afraid.

"It's the timers. It's eight o'clock."

Bart's body seemed to relax and he dropped the gun, his shoulders drooping.

"Terry." CJ called, turning to the young security guard who was laying face down on the opposite couch. "Go shut 'em off."

Terry turned to face them, eyes half closed.

"It's Bart's turn."

Bart, now less afraid, acted like his usual self.

"You're the trainee, man. Shit rolls downhill."

Vera rolled her eyes and Terry began to pull himself up.

"I liked you better when you were sleeping." She murmured, causing CJ to crack a grin. She stood, stretching, ignoring the looks both he and Bart gave her when her shirt raised a little to reveal a sliver of skin. She crossed to the forgotten cap on the floor and picked it up, handing it back to CJ.

"I wish somebody was working at Hallowed Grounds." Terry complained. Vera nodded.

"Me too."

"How hard is it to make a cup of coffee?" CJ replied, handing Terry the keys and placing his cap on his head.

"I wanted a soy mocha latte with foam." he muttered. Vera cringed. The thought of any coffee with foam was just… disgusting.

"Faggot." Bart called after him.

"You sleep okay?" CJ asked Vera. She nodded.

"I like sleeping with you." she murmured, a light blush on her cheeks. He smirked at her as she closed her eyes and sighed. "You know what I meant."

"I know what I wish you meant." He corrected her. A quick glance to make sure Bart was still turned away, he leant forward and kissed her forehead. Vera wasn't too sure where this sudden change in character had come from, both of them seemed to have taken a large step in their... relationship. _'I suppose there's no better time than the supposed end of the world.'_ She thought to herself.

CJ turned back to Bart who was currently clipping his utility belt around his waist, over his boxer shorts, minus pants and putting his cap on. "What are you doing?" CJ asked, exasperation clear in his voice. Bart ignored him and walked closer, looking towards the TV's

"What's the news?" he asked.

CJ and Vera stared at the static that only yesterday had been their one link to the rest of the world.

"Bad."

* * *

Bart had wandered off to 'check on the trainee' leaving CJ and Vera to themselves.

"What are you going to do about the group downstairs?" Vera asked, playing with her fingers.

"They're not staying." CJ was adamant. Vera sighed, understanding his reasoning.

"I just think they could be helpful. I don't know what the Hell is happening out there, CJ. But it's bad, what you saw on the news, that was controlled, it's so much different for normal people. I don't think any of us can make it without them." She spilled her thoughts to him. His expression remained blank as he looked at her. "Besides." She added. "Would you really kick a pregnant lady out?"

He huffed, avoiding her eyes.

"Exactly, you wouldn't. So maybe we can all sit down and talk about things so this can work. You get what you want, they stay and follow your rules and they get what they want, safety. If they leave, they'll die."

"Would you go with them?" He asked. Vera shook her head. She hadn't even contemplated leaving him.

"I came all this way to find you. I'm not going anywhere without you." She replied, sincerely. "Besides. What would I be without my big, strong security guard?" He rolled his eyes at the obvious sarcasm in her voice.

"Alright, I'll think about it." he conceded just as Terry came running in, Bart on his tail.

"There's a truck!" CJ was up in an instant, grabbing the binoculars off the table and running off. Vera attempted to follow them but bumped into something along the way. Her vision was getting worse, meaning that her contact lenses were almost fully dissolved.

She quickly walked over to one of the stores she knew held glasses. Tugging on the door proved it was locked and she groaned because she knew CJ had the keys. She turned towards the door that lead to the roof and followed the 3 security guard's footsteps.

Vera reached the roof, just as the truck came crashing into the mall sign a little distance away. Despite her lack of proper vision, she could see the infected rushing towards the truck. One jumped at the driver window, only to be shot down.

The door slammed open behind her and she jumped. CJ's instinct caused him to grab her, placing her behind him. He glared at the group.

"CJ!" Michael called.

"How did you get out?" CJ asked, irritation lacing his tone as they walked over to stand in front of the group. Vera glanced at Terry who gave a sheepish look.

"Who gave you permission to loot the goddamn stores?!" Vera looked over, seeing most of them in different, less bloodied, outfits.

"What are we going to do about that truck?" Ana asked, getting straight to the point.

"We're not gonna do anything about that truck." CJ replied. Vera bit her lip, knowing that if they did nothing then the truck was more likely to attract more infected. She looked at the army of them already gathered around the mall and shuddered as she imagined them growing by hundreds.

"There's people in it." Ana pointed out.

"Yeah? And how do you know they're not fucked up like everybody else out there?"

Ana's expression became blank but the irritation was clear in her eyes.

"Well, for one thing they're driving a truck." Some gunshots echoed across the parking lot. "Oh, and shooting guns." She told him sarcastically.

"If we start letting people in here then we're gonna let the wrong ones in." CJ raised his voice a little. Vera tiptoed closer, recognising a fire in his eyes. This could get out of hand very quickly and the last thing they needed right now was an altercation.

"And then I'm dead." CJ continued. "And you know what? I don't want to die."

That was a sentiment that they could all relate to, however, Ana wasn't backing down. Vera and Terry exchanged concerned glances, CJ didn't like to be challenged.

"Who are the wrong ones?"

CJ motioned around. "Nobody here is sick. And I intend on keeping it that way."

"I think…"

CJ pulled out his gun, pointing it directly in her face. "I did not ask for your opinion lady!" He yelled.

"Now if you wanna argue with me, you can argue with this."

Michael raised a hand and spoke calmly.

"Hey, hey, relax."

This time, CJ pointed the gun at him. "Shut your fucking mouth." Then he turned back to Ana.

"Get the gun out of my face." she ordered softly. Nobody said a word as Vera moved closer, just in front of Luda and placed a hand on CJ's wrist, hoping to calm him. His eyes flickered to her.

"You can't just turn them away, CJ, you'll kill them." Terry argued.

"Tough shit, self defence." CJ countered.

"I'm not killing anybody." Terry piped up from Vera's left. She looked at him and shook her head, knowing the only way to save this situation was to calm everyone down.

"CJ-" She started before he turned, lifting his arm from her grip and pointed his gun at Terry.

"You know what? I'll kill you." He stated, unbothered. Terry's face was a picture of fear.

"Stop it, CJ, don't do this." Terry pleaded.

"Shut up." He snapped. He pointed his gun at Andre, Kenneth and then back on Ana. "I'll kill each and every one of you to stay alive. You hear me?"

That's when Vera took a step away. She distanced herself from him, taken aback by the venom in his voice. He noticed of course, but pushed down the guilt he felt upon seeing the disbelief on her face.

"Get the fucking gun out of my face." Ana yelled. She'd had enough.

"Oh, you got quite a mouth on you."

"Somebody should show her how to use it." Bart added. That was enough for the men. Michael pushed Bart's gun away from him, punching him in the face. He tore the gun from his hand and pointed it at the groaning security guard. With CJ distracted, Kenneth hit him and then proceeded to take his gun whilst Terry pulled his own out in case they tried anything.

"Is there a holding cell in there?" Kenneth asked Terry who nodded.

"Yeah, back of the security room." He flicked his gun towards the building. CJ gave him a vicious glare and Kenneth began to lead him towards the door. Vera quickly held her hand out for CJ's gun. Kenneth eyed her for a second and handed it over. She nodded her thanks.

"That's real good. You're gonna get us all killed, dumb-ass." CJ yelled at Terry. The young security guard took hold of Bart's collar from Michael and began to push him after Kenneth.

"Fucking traitor."

Vera ignored them and turned to Andre and Michael.

"I hope you got a good plan." Andre said, glancing at the gun she held.

Michael looked at Ana and then Vera.

"Sorry." She nodded..

"It's okay, he won't admit it, but he's scared, we all are. It could have been handled better but it's too late now."

She started to walk towards the roof exit.

"C'mon, we need to get them inside before they attract more infected." She called over her shoulder.

* * *

 **Michael followed after Kenneth and Terry to grab weapons and Andre walked back to the door they used yesterday to enter the mall. Vera made a quick stop at one of the lower stores which was unlocked. She scurried over to the rack of glasses and quickly found a pair that worked for her. They were simple black glasses and thankfully they didn't fall off of her face. A quick look in one of the mirrors showed a different person. Vera sighed, she'd started using contacts instead of glasses for a reason. She forced a smile in the mirror.** ** _'Oh well. Fake it till you make it.'_**

When she finally joined Andre he gave her a confused look due to the recent addition to her face.

"I need them." She told him, answering the question on his lips. "I had dissolvable contacts in but they're wearing off. I can't see very well otherwise."

Andre nodded and then noticed she was looking at the gun in her hand, a little confused.

"You know how to use that?" He asked. She looked over at him and shook her head.

"No, CJ was supposed to teach me." Vera told him. He reached his hand forward and pulled back the safety.

"There, now it'll shoot. Aim for the head. You'll get some kickback so to try to relax your arms or you might fuck up your elbows." He coached. She nodded and smiled at him.

"Thanks Andre." They stood in silence.

"So, you and that asshole huh?" Andre mentioned. Vera laughed a little and nodded.

"I don't know. We've known each other a while, he's not always so bad, but I guess with all the shit going on lately, I can't blame him for going a little crazy."

Michael appeared, a handgun with him.

He lowered himself down a little and glanced through the gunshot hole that Kenneth had initially caused. Andre did the same.

"I can't see a damn thing." Michael muttered.

"Me either."

Vera stood behind them, her gun pointed at the door in case of trouble. She made sure to keep her finger off the trigger. Then came the unmistakable beeping of a truck reversing.

The 3 of them exchanged confused looks.

"Why is he backing up?"

"Shit. What the fuck?"

"We gotta go out there." Michael told them. Vera sighed, not wanting to face those things again.

Andre shook his head. "Throw that bullshit right outta your head. That's not part of the plan."

Michael looked at the door and back at Vera and Andre.

"Change of plan. I'll open the door."

"No." Andre and Vera said.

"OK. One, two…" Michael counted down,bracing his hand on the long handle.

"Don't do it man." Andre warned him.

"...three." He pushed against the door and… nothing.

Vera glared at Michael.

"I should put a bullet in you for that. I just had a fucking heart attack." she muttered.

"C'mon man." Andre complained, reaching forward and pulling back the bolt on the lock.

"Thanks." Michael said, casting an apologetic look at Vera.

Then the door was pushed open and the three of them rushed out.

* * *

 **CJ stood in the cell, fuming. He'd let these fuckers in and now he was sat here like a trapped animal. He was angry at Vera. She'd helped convince him. He'd listened to her and now everything was fucked.**

He watched the security camera's wanting to see what these assholes were going to fuck up next. One of the camera's showed the truck backing up to one of the back doors. The small door next to the truck delivery doors burst open and CJ watched intently as Andre, Michael and Vera swarmed out.

Any anger he held towards the redhead dissipated and fear filled him as those things ran towards them. His girl was holding a gun. Andre grabbed onto one of the infected as it ran at him, he turned them and shot the thing up through the chin, straight into the brain. The blood spattered onto the truck. Vera raised the gun and shot once at one of the infected. CJ could see that she'd been surprised by the power. Her shot hit the thing in the neck. He began to clench his fingers in the mesh bars of the cell. She raised the gun once more and shot. The bullet ripped through the infected's face.

"Fuck." he whispered. He hoped she was a natural shot and that it wasn't just luck. Nothing would stop him killing those fuckers if anything happened to Vera, not even the cell. Something caught their attention. There were two people on top of the truck. They ran back into the building and the door was shut, the infected left on the outside, slamming against the metal.

CJ let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding and glanced back at Bart who appeared to be taking a nap. He rolled his eyes at the lazy fuck and trained his gaze back on the security camera's looking for any sign of Vera.

* * *

 **Vera walked behind the new group as Andre wheeled a bigger, injured woman in a wheelbarrow. There was a large bite mark on the top of her arm. Her veins were prominent and her skin seemed ashen. It made Vera feel nauseous.**

"Thank God. I couldn't stay in that fucking truck anymore." The blonde said as she walked along. She was wearing a top that showed off her midriff, it was covered in blood spatters.

"Anybody who's injured, go to metropolis right away and I'll come and take a look at you." Ana called out. Vera eyed the tall guy in the trucker cap as he limped ahead of her.

"Let me take a look at her." Ana said, getting closer to the injured woman.

"Can you help me? What's your name?" She asked the man in the white shirt.

"Glen." He told her, breathing a little heavily. "Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute to collect myself."

Vera tucked CJ's gun into the back of her jeans and moved forward to help the guy in the trucker cap.

"Here." she said, catching his attention. She moved his arm over her shoulder, allowing him to put less weight on his injured leg.

"I'm Vera." She introduced. He smiled at her.

"Tucker."

"If you wanna go wait for me in there, I'll come take a look at your leg." Ana told him. Vera helped him along and when in the furniture store, she sat him down.

"I'll get you some water." She mentioned, patting him on the knee. She walked back out, towards Michael.

"Hey, you got some water, those guys in there could use some."

He handed her a few bottles and she turned to walk back when a whistle stopped her. She turned, seeing a middle aged guy with short black hair, dressed to the nines in a suit, staring at her.

"Hey, sweetheart. You single?" He asked, winking at her.

She smiled politely. "No." Then she turned back the way she came and walked off.

When she returned to Tucker, the injured woman was now lay on a bed, groaning. Vera handed Tucker the bottle which he took gratefully.

To her left now sat a tall, thin man with two bites on each hand. She contained a wince. In front of him sat a young redhead.

"You two okay?" She asked. They both nodded.

"I'm Frank, this is my daughter Nicole."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Vera. If you just hang on, Ana will come and take a look at those bites." She informed him.

Terry stopped next to the pair and handed them some water. "Hey. You guys need anything?"

Vera noticed Terry's expression of awe when Nicole looked up at him. She smirked.

We're fine, don't worry about us." Frank responded, waving him off.

"He's got a bite on his hand." Nicole told him, wiping at it with a rag. He nodded and made his way over to Ana, missing the lingering gaze of Nicole. Vera saw it though as she stood to join Terry and Ana.

"She's cold." She heard Ana mutter.

"That's good right?" Terry questioned, looking at Vera who shrugged.

Ana used a damp cloth on the woman's forehead to soothe her. "I don't know. It's weird." she looked back at the two of them.

"I've never seen an infection this bad that doesn't come with a fever." Ana was confused, none of this made any sense.

Terry looked back at Frank and Nicole. "That guy's arm looks pretty bad. You should check it out."

"Nicole, the daughter, she's cleaning it up, but the bites look pretty deep, it might cause an infection." Vera informed the nurse.

Ana nodded. "Alright. Stay with her for a minute."

Vera stood at Terry's side as they stared down at the woman whose skin had become a very prominent grey-ish colour.

"What if CJ was right?" She asked. He looked at her.

"About what? Letting them die?" He hissed at her.

She narrowed her eyes at his tone. "No. About being careful who we let in. What if these people are sick? You might not understand considering you've been safely tucked inside the mall this whole time. But I've been out there, okay?" She took a breath.

"Those fuckers are lethal, if they get in here, we don't stand a chance. Now I don't know how it spreads but it spreads fast. I don't wanna end up like that and I sure as fuck don't wanna be eaten." That seemed to stick with Terry and he looked away.

"Well, hopefully none of these people are sick." Was all he could say, knowing that she was right.

Their silence was interrupted by the woman's laboured breathing.

"Ma'am, can I get you something, like a glass of water?" Terry asked her.

The woman's mouth fell open and her one good eye rolled into the back of her head.

"Ana, Ana come here!" Terry cried out. But it was too late. The woman had stopped breathing. Ana reached forward, placing two fingers against her neck, checking for a pulse, but it was clear she couldn't find one.

She shared a look with Vera and covered the dead woman with a blanket. She moved past Terry to face the rest of the new group.

"Anyone know her name?"

Silence.

"Died without a name?" Tucker said, pulling his hat from his head. "Damn."

"Guys, do you wanna move into the other room?" Ana asked.

Terry gave a yell from Vera's side. "Holy shit!" Everyone turned to see the recently deceased woman sat up. The sheet fell off and the eyes that wasn't swollen shut blinked open. The whites of her eyes were now a sickly yellow. She turned her head and screamed. Terry ran off. Vera moved back as the woman ran for her.

"Fuck." She yelled as she turned the corner and tripped over an extended chair. She hit the ground face first, her cheekbones smacking into the ground harshly. Despite the pain, she rolled over, pulling the gun from the back of her jeans and pulled the safety. Just as the infected woman was about to reach her; Ana jammed a fire poker into her eye and straight through her brain.

The woman stopped immediately and her weight pulled her to the ground right beside Vera. Putting the safety back on, Vera crawled away quickly and stood, breathing heavily.

"You okay?" Ana asked, stopping by her.

Vera blinked a few times and nodded. Her fear turned into anger and and she exited the store just as Terry, Michael and Kenneth came around the corner.

"Terry, you little fuck!" He cringed.

"I'm sorry." She glared at him and stalked past him, slamming his shoulder with hers.

* * *

Around 20 minutes later, they all sat at Hallowed Grounds. Terry had apologised profusely to Vera who had forgiven him when she remembered that he'd never actually been up close with one like that. CJ had taken care of Ben and the janitor in the closet while Terry had stood at a distance.

"I think it's the bites." Ana blurted out. Everyone looked at her and Vera wracked her brain, wondering if she'd seen any bites on Debbie.

"Frank said she was walking on her own when she got in the truck 5 hours ago." Ana explained, looking round at all of them.

"Bites killed her. Bites brought her back." Vera nodded, agreeing with Ana, that would explain why is spread so fast.

"How do you know?" Of course, Andre didn't seem convinced.

"I watched it happen. I felt her pulse. She was gone." Ana said.

"She's right." Vera added.

"Yesterday, I saw the same thing happen to somebody else." Ana's tone seemed different and she looked down. Vera followed her gaze, which landed on the wedding band on her finger. She frowned, feeling sorry for the woman.

"I think that's why it spread so fast."

Vera stood from her stool. "That's probably exactly how it spread so fast." She was sure. "If all it takes it one bite, then it wouldn't matter how extensive the wound was. Most people probably wouldn't have bothered going to the hospital if it wasn't bad."

Ana nodded at her theory. "That's why the hospitals couldn't contain it."

"Alright." Michael sighed. "So who else in the group is bitten?"

"Frank, for sure." Ana sipped her coffee.

"What about the one with the foot?"

"Tucker?"

Vera noticed Andre slip away quietly.

"He say's no, he fell." Ana continued.

"So it's Frank. Tall guy, right?" Vera nodded.

"Right, so we have to quarantine him right away."

"Where exactly do we do that?" Kenneth asked.

Vera felt a change in her vision and realised that the contacts were completely gone. She'd have to look around for more at some point. Just in case, because if she lost her glasses, she could become a liability.

"It's too dangerous to keep him here." Vera tuned back into the conversation and frowned. They wanted to kill him?

Ana noticed the meaning as well.

"What are we….Are we talking about killing him?" She seemed shocked.

"You'd rather wait for him to die and then he kills us?"

"Yes. No." She couldn't seem to make up her mind. "You can't kill him, he's got a daughter."

Vera cut in. "Ana, I hate to say it, but that doesn't matter. Not anymore. If we leave him alone then he'll kill everyone, even his daughter. This is better for all of us."

Ana glared at her but there was understanding in her eyes. Her hard gaze softened.

"I'm sorry." Michael apologised as he stood. "There's no other choice." He walked off.

Ana looked round at Vera, Kenneth and Terry, hoping someone would back her up. But Terry avoided her gaze.

"He's right." Was all Kenneth could say.

Ana stood from her stool and rounded the bar.

"Michael, no! What if I'm wrong?" she cried out.

Michael kept walking. "You've seen it happen before."

Ana raced off, no doubt to warn Frank, whilst Michael, Kenneth and Terry followed.

Vera stayed where she was. The drama was becoming a little too much for her. So much had happened today and despite the sleep she'd gotten, she was mentally exhausted. She decided to go and check in on the uninjured newcomers who had settled into another furniture store, to lie down and get some rest.

She pushed open the door, causing heads to turn towards her. She smiled softly at them earning some smiled back.

"Hey, I just thought I'd come and introduce myself. See how all of you are getting on. I'm Vera."

The older woman smiled over at her. "I'm Norma, that's Monica." She pointed at the pretty blonde who waved.

"I'm Glen." He held his hand out to shake hers. Vera blinked at his hand before shaking it. It seemed like such a… normal thing to do after the last few days.

"That's Steve." Monica nodded towards the raven haired man from earlier. He smirked at her.

"Oh we've met. Hi sweetheart." Vera rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Were any of you bitten by those things out there?" She asked, just to be cautious. All of them shook their head.

"Frank was bitten and the other woman, but none of us." Norma told her. Vera nodded.

"Okay, that's good. Bites spread the infection, at least, we're pretty sure." They all seemed horrified.

"But, what about Frank?" Glen asked softly. She thought for a moment before answering.

"If he's going to turn into one of those things, we'll have to kill him. But I figure they'll quarantine him until he turns. If you have goodbye's to say, best to say them now."

Vera gave them a small wave and exited, making her way back to where Frank and Tucker had been. Terry was walking towards the elevators.

"Terry!" She called. He stopped and turned around. "What's going on with Frank?" She asked.

"Uh, Kenneth is taking him to one of the stores, they're going to wait to see if he turns. He's saying goodbye to his daughter now." He informed her. She nodded.

"I'm going to check on CJ and Bart, you coming?" He asked.

"Yeah, okay." They got into the elevator.

It was quiet for a moment before Terry turned to her. Vera rolled her eyes. "I really am sorry."

"Terry, c'mon. I already said it's okay." She reached forward, pulling off his cap and ruffling his hair. "I know you freaked out. If I'd died, I'd be super pissed, like come-back-from-the-dead-and-eat-you pissed, but I'm good so it's fine." He snatched his cap back and smiled gratefully as the elevator doors hissed open.

"But if you do it again." She said as they began to walk towards the security office. "I'll shoot you." He gulped and nodded.

The complaining started as soon as they walked in.

"Hey, let us out."

"C'mon let us out."

Terry shook his head, checking all the camera's. CJ looked at Vera, hoping to catch her eyes but she deliberately avoided looking at the cell, instead she stood by Terry.

"Would you really shoot me?" Terry asked quietly. Vera looked at him and shrugged.

"Probably not, because then you'd just be a major pain in the ass. I wanna say I'd leave you as payback, but I wouldn't do that either." He frowned.

"Really?"

"Really. I get scared too, Terry. I've spent the last few days in such fucking terror, but I'm not a coward, I couldn't leave someone like that."

Her words seem to hit home. "I won't leave you like that again. I promise."

CJ stared at their back, glaring at Terry, the little fuck. He knew what they were talking about. He'd been watching the security camera's when the fat woman got back up. The pussy ran off and Vera could've died. He knew Terry had a crush on Vera, Bart had outed him after the first time he met her. All this promise bullshit irritated him.

"Terry, come on. Open the door." CJ pleaded.

Terry's jaw clenched. "Shut up."

"Don't tell me to shut up, man. Open the door."

"I got you this job. Come on." Bart joined in.

Terry's eyes were fixed on the security camera that showed Nicole sitting and crying. Vera nudged the young guy. "She could use someone to comfort her." He looked at her and nodded, catching her meaning. He eyed the pair in the cell.

"You gonna be okay in here?" He asked.

"Are you gonna give me the keys?"

He bit his lip and shook his head. "Michael told me not to…" She laughed.

"Then I'm gonna be fine, Terry." He quickly ran off and Vera was left alone. Bart, realising he wasn't getting out of there anytime soon, lay back on the bed, putting his cap over his eyes.

"Why won't they let you have the keys." CJ questioned. He sighed when she refused to turn around.

"I might let you out." Her tone was clipped. He leant his forehead against the cell.

"I know you're mad that I lost my temper, but I was fucking right wasn't I?" Then she turned, eye blazing.

"I **never** said you were wrong. Not once on that rooftop did I disagree with you." He thought back, she was right. She'd tried to calm him down, but she'd never argued with him. Vera watched as realisation clouded his face.

"Yeah, that's right. I knew we had to do something about that truck because it was attracting more of the infected, but I didn't agree with letting them in. But then you freaked out and shoved a gun in everyone's face." She turned away from him.

He never put the gun in her face so that wasn't what bothered her. ' _Oh fuck.'_

 _*"Shut up." He snapped. He pointed the gun at Andre, Kenneth and then back on Ana. "I'll kill each and every single one of you to stay alive. You hear me?"*_

"I didn't mean that." He said quietly causing her to scoff.

"Sure sounded like you fucking did."

"I did. I'd kill all of them to keep **us** alive. The two of us. I never pointed the gun at you, Vera."

Now she looked at him. "We're getting out of here. Together. I promise. I'm not going fucking anywhere without you." Vera looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity in them, she nodded.

"I don't think you're going anywhere, anyway." She grinned at him.

"I thought we were having a moment?" CJ shook his head, laughing. Vera walked closer, lacing her fingers around the metal mesh. His eyes followed his own hands as they inched closer to hers. He snaked his fingers through the bars and barely caught the edge of her shirt, pulling her closer. His face was close to the bars, his nose jutting out through one of the squares, lips almost pressed through another.

"Now we're having a moment." She whispered. CJ really wanted to kiss her. Just as he was about to press even closer, she backed away. She turned to the camera's which showed Kenneth pointing his gun at Frank. She bent forward, hands on the desk, leaning down to see better.

CJ's eyes wandered down, then he caught sight of something. "Is that my gun?" She turned, her hand reaching back and touching the cool metal. She nodded.

"It's mine until you get it back. I had to use it today."

"I saw." He pointed towards the camera's. "I'm not with you for 5 minutes and you almost die, twice." Vera shrugged.

"What's with the glasses?" He asked, curiously. He'd spotted them earlier. He thought she looked hot, like some kinda sexy librarian. Not that he was ever fucking telling her that.

"I need them, I usually wear contacts. But I don't have any now." She noted that there was no movement from Frank yet. Were they wrong about the bites?

"There's probably some in the health store downstairs." CJ scratched at his beard. Vera frowned.

"I look real stupid, huh?"

"I think you look sexy as fuck." He threw it out there, watching her blush was always fun. A monstrous scream shattered the playful banter between them, followed by a gunshot. Vera jumped. That sound, the screaming. It terrified her.

"Wait… Were you looking at my ass?!"


End file.
